Artch - Another Return (1988)

It's a sad state of affairs that we primarily recognize Norway for the country's contributions in the black metal field, to the exclusive of almost all other sub-genres. Not that there's anything wrong with the black metal. It's the most financially successful and shocking musical export the country has ever known, and arguably the best in terms of quality. But before this, the Norse had a small contingent of quality thrash and traditional metal bands in the 80s, one of which was the tragically obscure Artch, who were active as of 1983 and finally got out their debut in 1988, where it was titled Another Return to Church Hill. The title was snipped down, and the album did see several re-releases, the latest through Metal Blade with a bonus video CD-R.

Artch were a straight up heavy/power metal act, but their propensity for bone crunching riffs bordered on the emerging thrash realm, with a similar level of aggression to a band like Metal Church. The vocalist, and Icelander named Eric Hawk, has a voice that ranges from Bruce Dickinson's vicarious leering to a more hard rock attitude like an Ian Gillan or Ronny James Dio.
The guitars are massive on Another Return, and the drums crash like a stormed wreck against a treacherous rocky landmass. The songwriting throughout most of the album is impeccable, with an excellent course plotted through mid paced to slower, emotional tracks, and thankfully only one moody power ballad, and it sounds just as fresh as most of the modern but throwback heavy metal I hear coming out of Europe today.

"Conversio Prelude" sets an ominous, yet majestic tone to the record, through flighty keyboards that feel like they're strafing the skyline from a medieval castle or bell tower. Then the steady chugging of the title track, the choir like woes, and a bell strikes as the bass begins to slowly churn. Something very dark and very metal is about to happen, and soon Hawk's alights like a blaze of early 80s Dickinson. The bridge here at about 1:15 sounds almost exactly like Maiden, but all will be forgiven when he hear the climactic chorus to the sound, which is beyond vainglorious. Yeah, that was pretty BAD ASS. They follow it with "Power to the Man", not the greatest song on this album, since the thundering verse gives way to a rather silly, bouncing chorus that feels a little too like grimy, failed hard rock. "Loaded" compensates with a steady rock pace and a feel very much akin to Seattle's excellent 80s band Fifth Angel. Great, simple riffing that you simply can't get away with anymore.

As I mentioned, there is one ballad here, called "Where I Go", and it opens like a mix of the Scorpions and any random strip metal band from California in the mid 80s. A little cheesy, but serious enough that you'll feel your jaw bounce to the bass-lines and skull crack when the heavier riffing and leads erupt over 3 minutes in. "Metal Life" is a nice, driving metal piece which feels like some hypothetical blend of Twisted Sister and Omen, and "The Promised Land" feels like it could hammer spikes into a railroad with its guitars, though the lyrics are a little bit cheesy, and I question the wisdom of having two songs about 'metal' in a row, even for a 1988 record. Thankfully the record closes with a three punch combo: the straight power metal of "Shoot to Kill", the laid back but heavy burn of "Living in the Past", and the rhinoceros speed of the closer "Reincarnation", which leaves me with only the desire to hear these guys play an album of faster material at some date.

It's got some cheesy lyrics, and "Power to the Man" is almost sad enough to evince laughter from my tired old skull, but otherwise Another Return was a very promising debut that I've never grown tired of in over 20 years. Artch were a little heavier than your stock NWOBHM worship band, but clearly the roots of their sound all lay within that field, and you could probably develop a crush on this if you're a fan of Dio's original two Sabbath records, the heavier side of Saxon, or Iron Maiden circa 1980-1984. Judging on the strength of this effort alone, the band should have exploded in their country, and they may very well have turned a few ears, since a few of my metal friends in high school were all over them here, an entire ocean away. However, I fear the momentum slowed quickly, since the album's successor was simply not as charming nor memorable.

Verdict: Win [8/10] (headstones licked the falling rain)

http://www.artch.net/

Soilwork - The Panic Broadcast (2010)

Soilwork has perhaps too often been lumped into the category of the talentless modern mainstream groove metal band, considering they once showed such an immense potential to take the teachings of the traditional Swedish melodeath ala Dark Tranquillity and At the Gates to a new height, after starting as a tasteful, semi-knockoff of Slaughter of the Soul. Sadly, these guys peaked around 2002 with their excellent album Natural Born Chaos, and have been trying unsuccessfully to recreate that formula, without completely halting their creative evolution. The band probably slipped a little too out of reach with their 2005 effort Stabbing the Drama. It wasn't entirely terrible if you don't mind the band's progressive pop metal trappings, but the following Sworn to a Great Divide was almost a return to form, falling short only in the memory department.

With their 8th full-length, The Panic Broadcast, Soilwork have seen the departure of both axe slingers from the previous effort, Ola Frenning and Daniel Antonsson. Returning to his spot is Peter Wichers, who performed on most of the band's best material, and a newcomer Sylvain Coudret, who has played in the French band Scarve for many years. A very natural fit, and with this they proceed to mete out 11 new tracks that show the exhibit the same combination of energetic thrash or melodeath, grooving hooks, multiple vocal styles ranging from angst barks to soulful cleans, and modern atmospheres created through the busy keyboard work of Sven Karlsson. I'd place this album right at the nexus of the last three, and while I feel the band's creativity has been stifled since 2002, this is at least a pretty well written record. Unlike, say, Figure Number Five, which felt like a hurried set out of outtakes from Natural Born Chaos (yet still managed to be half decent), you can tell a lot of effort went into this music, even if it feels partially disposable.

As expected, The Panic Broadcast opens with a faster track, "Late to the Kill, Early for the Slaughter", which seems like it should have been a Terror 2000 title (Speed's other band). The riffing is pretty might pure, taut thrash, a lot more straightforward than what they've written in years, but it takes only until the melodic vocals of the bridge to see the band has no plans on abandoning their emotionally uplifting aesthetics. Speed doesn't sound too Phil Anselmo on this album, though traces remain, he turns in a fairly Terror 2000 performance with the added melodic ingredient. The licks come fast and hard, and obviously Wichers and Coudret have no problem co-existing here, swapping leads over a groovy rhythm in the bridge. The writing might not have the same impact as the songs I've been enjoying for years on Natural Born Chaos, but it's good enough to feel some anticipation for the rest of the album.

"Two Lives Worth of Reckoning" does not abandon the velocity of the opening track, with another pummeling thrash riff interspersed in grooves and guitar fills, with the inevitable clean chorus alternated in Speed's harsh vocals. As has been the case for years, Soilwork goes for the huge melodic pop radio feel, and whether or not its catchy really depends on how much the listener cares for such accessible entertainment. Personally I don't find it all that bad, though the clean/growl interface is a rather tired way of conveying emotion that makes me feel like the band are a bunch of 13 year olds writing metalcore. "The Thrill" uses a pretty rough cut clean guitar to create a winding, tight rhythm not unlike some of the grooves on the latest In Flames record. It's busy until the bouncy verse, but the band keeps the note selection interesting, shifts in key creating a very prog-like architecture before the clean chorus.

This is the formula Soilwork keeps for much of the record. You get a few cool riffs in cruise mode, a sense of complexity that almost betrays the direct nature of the melodic chorus breaks, and a quintet of musicians who have no intention of boring you through their effort. I'd be lying if I didn't admit to some serious headbanging during "Deliverance is Mine", but unfortunately there are some songs here where the sailing of the chorus vocals just seems too pert and trendy, like some shitty metalcore act ala All That Remains or Killswitch Engage, and I was very lost on "Let This River Flow" and "The Akuma Afterglow". On the other hand, the slow but dense burn of "Enter Dog of Pavlov" makes for a pretty interesting prog metal instrumental, and the bonus "Sweet Demise" delivers a fair level of melodic release.

Nothing on this album is going to bring the average Soilwork hater into the fold, or the exiled fan of their early material running back to the band, but it's far from the worst I've heard lately. They probably sell to the same markets these years, but I'd take this band any day over the American horrors of Atreyu, Avenged Sevenfold and All That Remains. Even at their most prim and poppy, the Swedes still feel like they're aiming for something more than the panties of the tattooed, pierced dyejob mallcore beauty in the front row of their gig, and though this is not an album I'd be rushing out to purchase, it gives a brief glint of hope that not all the potential has been siphoned away to oblivion.

Verdict: Indifference [6/10] (hunting for closure)

http://www.soilwork.org/

Austrian Death Machine - Double Brutal (2009)

Apparently Tim Lambesis was just warming us all up with the suck of his joke band Austrian Death Machine's debut, because a year later he's back, with Double Brutal, another album of disposable 'humor' celebrating the most famous action hero of the 80s and 90s, a direct 'sequel' which might qualify for a straight to video release if I hadn't already gnashed the reel in my teeth. Did the world really need this? Wasn't the first album quite enough, and do you really feel like there's enough material to squeeze out another album of nonsense based on Arnold Schwarzenegger film quotes? Didn't anyone ever see the movie Wall E? Do we want or future to look like the first segment of that movie? Who green lit this artistically and comically null detritus?

Lambesis himself had become more competent by this point, and once again ably performs all the instruments and vocals, joined yet again by a host of metalcore guitar players from bands like The Human Abstract, All Shall Perish, Unearth, and Darkest Hour, all cross promoting their own bands while contributing to this way cool project! Or maybe they just owed the creator some drug money from mutual tours of the past. By this point, we've already got the energetic but insufficient riffing of Total Brutal to add upon, and the sophomore album doesn't exactly fails in this ambition. The songs are in general more thrash focused, though the gang shouts remain on tracks like "See You at the Party Richter" (which sports a decent Chris Storey solo) or the post-intro opener "I Need Your Clothes, Your Boots, and Your Motorcycles". The cheesy palm mute mosh riffs remain, but at least a few of them sport some decent thrash riff accompaniment in the tradition of the Goat of a Thousand Breakdown Bands, Slayer, which is unsurprisingly one of the band's biggest influences.

For jokes this time out, we get a guttural/death metal parody skit/song combo called "Hey Cookie Monster, Nothing is as BRutal as Neaaahh" and "Who Told You You Could Eat My Cookies?" which is downright awful. Cookie Monster jokes in references to death metal are about as tactful and humorous as...Arnold Schwarzenegger parodies in 2009, and though the lead guitar tries to make up some ground, the super guttural breakdown was just fucking inevitable. There's a skit here to reference the first album, called "Who Is Your Daddy, and What Does He? 2" which might as well be called "Who Cares, No one Will Remember that this Was Not Funny By Tomorrow". "Conan, What is Best in Life?" seems like a fairly straight tribute to the famous lines from Conan the Barbarian until the douchebag reference line 'You want to know what is best in metal...it's a guitar solo...oh yeah!' before guest Jason Suecof rips into his lead. Perhaps the best song on the album musically is "Come on Cohaagen, Give Deez People Ehyar".

But Double Brutal is called Double Brutal for a reason beyond the fact that it's the sophomore and has opposing faces of the Terminator and...Lambinator on the cover. It's also a Double Album, and the second disc is largely metalcore/ thrash covers of songs by Judas Priest, Misfits, Metallica, Megadeth, and Motörhead, all pretty safe and standard, none possessing any of the charm of their original incarnations since they're splattered in all kinds of shitty metalcore vocals and clownish background accompaniment. The Lemmy vocals in particular are heinously embarrassing. More unique would be the covers of Goretorture (a Finnish band who used to use Arnold movie samples in their music, very clever Tim), Agnostic Front, but then, these are equally lame in their delivery. Think of listening to Killswitch Engage's pathetic Dio cover about 7 or 8 times in a row, and that sums up the majority of the musical content to this disc. There are also some skits here, which are, surprise surprise, not at all funny. The only actual track on this disc worth hearing would be the metalized version of the Terminator 2 theme. Lambesis could just have well recorded this, posted it to his personal MySpace or Facebook or whatever, and then called it a day without ever putting these albums out and I might have been happy.

Double Brutal was an entirely unnecessary effort from a joke that still lacks a punchline. Perhaps if Austrian Death Machine had manifested in just the debut, it would be a little more forgivable, but this is like having your remains tread on by a tank after already being stung to death by annoying wasps. It's about as useful as tits on a bull, or a fish on a bicycle, or tits on a bicycle. Okay, strike that last one, because watching a pair of double brutal boobs bounce on a bicycle would be infinitely more entertaining than listening to this album. A few of the riffs on Disc 1 are decent, the metal T2 theme is fun enough, but the rest of the 56 minutes is a flat tire waiting to happen.

Verdict: Fail [2.25/10] (get ready to not get pumped)

http://www.austriandeathmachine.com/

Austrian Death Machine - Total Brutal (2008)

As a youth and teen, I grew up in an era when people actually looked forward to each Arnold Schwarzenegger film with baited anticipation, because once upon time they were usually great fun, and showed all the innocence of film-making which seems to have died out in the big budget green screen revolution. Commando, Predator, The Running Man, Conan the Barbarian, and the first two Terminator films are in my opinion the best he's done, and still entertaining views over two decades in the future, where we find ourselves in a cynical age just as short on taste as any criticisms one might have leveled at the 80s and the Austrian bodybuilder whose career went supernova. Obviously, the accent and rather one-dimensional roles the man was handed were catalysts to a massive, nigh unending cycle of parody at the hands of comedians, celebrities and really just about everyone you know...

How many of us have exclaimed 'I'll be back!' or 'Get to tha choppa!' out loud, even at random, in our lifetimes? Arnold is a household name around most of the world, and if there's an exception, it must be some place without electricity, or another dimension, because even the deaf, dumb and blind know of this man's exploits on screen. By the 21st century, this is beyond played out, and Schwarzenegger impersonators have long since ceased being cool or funny. Someone forgot to mention this to Tim Lambesis, frontman for the crappy Christian metalcore band As I Lay Dying, because he decided to streamline his personal entry into the latest thrash trend with an all out Schwarzenegger parody, or should I say a tribute, interspersing bits of original dialog using a half-decent Arnold voice with a faceless mesh of youth hardcore, modern Slayer-like thrash riffing, gang shouts, overbearing metalcore vocals akin to his other band, and breakdowns.

It's actually impressive to an extent that Lambesis laid down all the groundwork for this record himself, demo'ing the instruments and then having friends come along to compensate for his own shortcomings by redubbing some of the specific guitar and drum tracks. Fair enough. He also brought on a host of metalcore guitarists like Adam Dutkiewicz of Killswitch Engage, Nick Hipa of As I Lay Dying and even Jason Suecof, studio wizard and guitarist of Capharnaum & Crotchduster, to add some guitar solos to the material. Most of the song titles are lifted from movie quotes featuring the Governator, and between these we get a few awful dialog sequences of Arnold's impersonator going through the band motions, skits similar to something you might find on some terrible hip hop record, only not as funny.

The problem of course is that a parody band must be funny, and Austrian Death Machine is not at all fucking funny. This is like the pitiful comedian you see at some gig, trying to rely on the old Arnold impersonator shtick because he cannot actually write an original joke to save himself. Musically, there is nothing of value unless you really think the Cro-Mags, Madball and shitty post-80s Slayer need an update to 21st century studio standards. Whether it's the hardcore meets shred indulgence of "You Have Just Been Erased", the Municipal Waste meet Earth Crisis stomper "Here is Zero, Now Plain Zero" or the terrible thrashing Slayercore of "If It Bleeds, We Can Kill It", there is simply nothing memorable beyond the fact that it's tight, in time and performed with some degree of competence. A few of the riffs like the choppy thrashing in "Who Is Your Daddy, and What Does He Do" or "Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers" might have actually worked with better vocals and no hardcore injection, but they're simply disposable in this context.

Almost all the songs have some horribly derivative metalcore breakdown from the days when Earth Crisis and peers reigned and already wrote them all, and I really cannot abide by Tim's vocals, which are your dime a dozen angry metalcore overkill which sounds like a mix of Phil Anselmo and Karl Buechner, with a little NY slant like Lou Koller of Sick of It All thrown in for good measure. The guest solos, while not technically unsound, are merely tripe dressing for the lame procession of songs that fly straight in one ear and out the other like a bazooka shell, only you don't gain the benefit of dying and escaping the stain this record leaves on your conscious. But even lamer, so much lamer than any of this is the self-referential diatribe Lambesis has in some of the skits, or the disclaimer that the album is somehow above criticism because its a joke band. Are you kidding me?

'Wait a second, I gotta try out my new delay pedal...' No one cares, brutal guy. You are not funny. Arnold's 'new song ' title in the "Broo-Tall Song Idea" is not funny, even if you half-ass Cookie Monster guttural vocals along to it. What the fuck, did you get this idea while hanging out with skater bois for a Mountain Dew commercial shoot?

Perhaps some Honcho at Metal Blade got a kick out of this concept, or perhaps they thought it was the right time to strike and turn a few more bucks in the nu-Thrash-xplosion! The Arnold Schwarzenegger thrash tribute band was really inevitable in a sudden rebirth of 80s worship in extreme music, and really I'm surprised it hadn't been done before to this extent. I might argue that Austrian Death Machine is superior to As I Lay Dying, but that's like arguing that a poop joke is more effective than a whoopie cushion. They're both perfectly effective fun for a six year old kid, but their impact grows a little sour through adolescence. Of course, if you're six, you can probably skip out on this review, go buy the album, the t-shirt and if mommy's got the change, maybe even a mouse pad or the McDonald's theme Happy Meal. Make sure you get two straws, because this sucks enough for both.

Verdict: Fail [2.75/10] (no, screw YOU)

http://www.austriandeathmachine.com/

Drephjard - Maktdominans EP (2009)

Maktdominans is the second EP offering from Norwegians Drephjard, and though recorded a few years back, soon after its predecessor Sorgsvart, it has only recently seen a release through Frostscald Records. For those unaware, Drephjard is a band featuring several members of the defunct Norse band Infernal, with Angst, who also fronts the band Carpticon. The sound here is pretty stock black metal, and unfortunately I feel it often lags behind its potential through a pretty shoddy selection of riffs, which is a symptom of black metal at large these years. There's nothing quite distasteful or oppressive about it, but the compositions are rather stubbornly simple and though the performances all around are tightly wound, it's not something to revisit unless one is direly desperate for more of the same.

One of the major issues is that Maktdominans has such an excellently plotted intro piece which really builds up hopes for the ensuing mayhem. Bleak battlefield ambiance is marked by screams and thunder, and then a beautiful male choral section arrives, followed by further artillery fire and then subdued into a single heartbeat beneath a lightning cracked sky, and an electronic warning system. It's extremely fucking cool, and sounds phenomenal on the stereo. After this, you simply desire the band to stomp on your fucking entrails, but you're only treated to a very familiar and dumb blasted rhythm in "Rovmord". This, my friends, is the downfall of this release. No ambitious writing, nothing but the typical half-step chord progressions inherent in far too much black metal afraid to think beyond a very secure set of borders. It's a shame, truly, because this is one genre of music I feel thrives on its radical ideals and displays of self manifestation.

To be sure, Drephjard have a lot going for them, despite the forgettable writing. The drumming is great, forceful and clear, and the bass line is also pumping. With such an adequate rhythm section, one would expect the guitars to leap across it like lightning, but through just about ever track, the riffs are incredibly dull exercises that must not have taken more than a few moments to conceive. They're just so 'average' that they could probably be improvised. That doesn't mean they are bad, but also not worth the while. Without strong riffs to drive the mind deeper into the band's internal warzone, the imagination is left with nothing but the actual beats and the typical rasping of the genre, and tracks like "Djevelsk Møy" or the title are rendered inert. There's a second ambient segue piece to follow the intro, simply titled "Pt. II", but the later tracks "Kald Jord" and "Slag" do very little to adjust the frustrating formula, even with the more morose closing moments of the latter, cycling back to the haunted slaughter of the intro.

I really wanted this EP to kill me like its intro promised, but its very quickly metered out into the realm of mediocrity. I am reminded of other band's like Sweden's Avsky, who promise a good lick or two and then devolve into writing that would only have been towing the line in the early 90s. True black metal this is, with all the trappings, the grisly outlook and the battering rhythms and harsh poetry of spite. The production is pretty good, and the band can play their instruments, but better material is needed to leave the lasting impression when there are so many out there already putting their own demons to the torch.

Verdict: Indifference [6/10]

http://www.myspace.com/drephjard666

At War - Retaliatory Strike (1988)

At War's opening volley of mortar fire went noisily into the night, but went it did, and was very quickly dismissed by the majority of the 80s thrash fanbase, if they ever even had the chance to hear it. The sounds were raw and the hearts were in the right place, but the music was severely lacking. So the three generals met in closed tents and rehearsal spaces, regrouped and returned two years later, still with the promising New Renaissance Records, for their Retaliatory Strike, a more significant effort in all departments. In fact, though the band has recently reformed and put out a new album (Infidel), it is this sophomore which remains the peak of their career, waiting to be toppled like some obscure South American dictator beneath the fire of commandos and mercenaries.

The band still maintains that aura of a dumbed down Slayer ala 1983-1985, but the riffs are fucking lethal here, and the vocal reverb reminds me a great deal of early Voivod, though he's got a much deeper voice. After a brief intro, "Conscientious Object" arrives like a mix of Sacred Reich, Slayer and D.R.I. riffing with a powerful lead segment and bridge. This track alone is better than anything the band offered on the debut, and instantly one gets the impression the band will be playing for keeps with the listener's memory here. This is enforced with the choppy, more technical riffing of "Creed of the Sniper", which seems to excel to the point at which it becomes comparable with Bay Area and German thrash velocity of its day. "Covert Sins" is pretty vile thrash/speed metal with a great use of dual thrash and demonic pitched vocals, riffs splashing across the battlefield like the afterbirth of bullet wounds.

"Crush Your Life" highlights an excellent verse riff akin to something Vio-lence or Exodus might have written, but laden in At War's meaty, raw tone which feels almost live, and "Gutless Sympathizer" continues to exude barbaric force, with a great little chorus shift where the bass goes up an octave and the vocals follow: You're the gutless sympathizer! Stand on both sides even wiser! I really liked this one. "Church and State" thrives off a dirty, spatter rock rhythm like a war metal Motley Crue before the chugging of the verse erupts. Not the greatest track here, but the chorus is cool. The vocals in "Felon's Guilt" are extremely entertaining, even if he just repeats the same bustling pattern in each verse, and the guitar riff at the breakdown is also quite kickass. The brief "Thinkin' " develops into some of the faster picking on the album, but it's under a minute in length, and lastly "The Example" is a blur of competent riffing with some Megadeth like speed grooves wound through it, but the vocals suck and it's not one of the better tracks.

I've always gotten the nagging impression that had At War survived to release a third album in around 1989-1990, they might have had a minor cult hit on their hands, but Retaliatory Strike, despite its general quality, would go almost as unnoticed as its elder sibling. The band's no horseshit, dirty production might have turned off some where by 1988 were expecting every album to sound like State of Euphoria or ...And Justice for All, but really it was more of a lack in marketing, which would put the entire label under. People worked on a rather limited budget for music in those days, and even though some diehards like myself might have bought up every thrash album they could afford on paper route money or leftover beer funds, there was no easy means like the interwebz for the majority to even become aware of the Virginians.

Thus, like about 90% of the thrash bands to arrive at the mid to end of that decade, At War would sink rather than swim through the trenches. It's a shame, because this is a good, if not essential album which oozed bullets and promise. One complaint I must register is that the CD cover on the re-release is fucking horrible. Camouflage and a band logo? Boring as all shit when compared to the original with the helicopters. Regardless, Retaliatory Strike might be well worth checking out if you like the more aggressive, brute thrash bands from Arizona or Texas like Sacred Reich, Exhorder, Rigor Mortis and Gammacide, or old Slayer and Hallows Eve.

Verdict: Win [7.75/10] (One shot! One kill! One way!)

http://www.atwartheband.com/

At War - Ordered to Kill (1986)

John Rambo. First Blood. Chuck Norris. Delta Force. Such are the products of the 80s craving for warfare and bloodlust, huge action films with unforgettable firefights and dialogue, all conveniently and ironically to coincide with the end of the Cold War era. But where was the thrash equivalent? Well, it was actually quite common during the 80s to include some gas-masked or muscular, vested, grenadier with a bigger arsenal than most small nations, struggling against injustice before or after the bomb dropped. Virginia's long lost and now found thrash cult At War represent a little less foolery in their brand of war metal, and a more honest, if underwritten depiction of violence and other topics, like the horrors of rape or experimentation at the lethal and lovely hands of a female S.S. officer...

Ordered to Kill was the trio's first entry into the arena, and like so many other New Renaissance Records releases of its time, it brings back fond memories. Who were these three men strapped with machine guns and camo emerging from this North American logo beneath one of the more distinct, if simple logos and military title font? They were Paul Arnold, Shawn Helsel, and Dave Stone and they were about to deliver one of the more blunt and hammering sounds of East Coast thrash metal. The writing on this debut is hardly perfect, and the band's second effort would be a step up in quality, but it's still decent enough if you like the crude sounds of a band like early Slayer, Hallows Eve, Sacred Reich or even Maryland's obscure Indestroy, who were on the same record label.

The title tracks opens with a few capable artillery rounds of smooth, rugged riffing, Paul Arnold's voice sounding quite like Tom Araya's lower end capacity in the 80s, without the swerves into a middle range or the bloodshot screaming. The solo is quick and forgettable, the entire experience rather cheap, but who cares? This was the 80s and you were banging your head, because you spent the $6-10 on the cassette or LP. "Dawn of Death" is mildly faster, but a little messier as it shifts from the momentum riffing to the war drum breakdowns. "Capitulation" is one of the weaker pieces on the record, with the song title being bludgeoned to death in the chorus to the loss of all affectations. Next we break into the Motörhead section of the record, beginning with the original "Rapechase" with its rolling punk-fueled aggression, and followed by an actual cover of "The Hammer" from Lemmy and friends. Both of these are actually pretty good, and one wonders if the band had followed their influence more closely for the entire album, if it might have made more of an impact.

But the final tracks return to the straight thrash sound, with some dirty, spent round casing riffs in "Mortally Wounded". I'm not a fan of the vocal breaks in this song, they get a little dull and again, the rather poor writing steals the potential power of the track. "Ilsa (She Wolf of the S.S.") opens with a Hitler sampler, not unexpected, and breaks out some of the finer musical moments on the album, with some deadpan thrashing rhythms and an excellent chorus which burns with a little of that Lemmy NWOBHM flame. Unfortunately, the finale "Eat Lead" is simply not that tolerable, with a mix of basal thrash 101 riffs and rather sloppy lyrical presentation. I don't mind the brief melodic guitar riding between the verses, but the rest is pretty dull.

At War were certainly not firing complete blanks on this debut, and I do find the raw production of the record endearing to this day, but the actual composition was somewhat lacking. If you're looking for a sound similar to Motörhead or Tank, updated for the new era of harsh, warlike thrash guitars that were exploding in the 80s, then this album might have some value to you. Otherwise, this was clearly left in the dust by Master of Puppets, Peace Sells..., Reign in Blood and many other albums of its day. The Virginians received their orders to kill, but this first mission was not a success, and casualties were high.

Verdict: Indifference [5.75/10] (tyrants, take heed)

http://www.atwartheband.com/

Horna - Vihan Tiellä (2009)

With such an endless procession of product being spat out of the band's abyssal imaginations, it's a wonder that there aren't more live Horna experiences available on CD. The Finns are one of the stronger touring black metal acts, at least to stand loyal to a necrotic, filthy underground sound rather than a symphonic endowed fashion expo like some others. This is only the 2nd such offering I'm really aware of, the other being the Black Metal Warfare live released in 2004, and this was culled from a performance in Athens, Greece back in 2007, so it's not exactly current, but close enough.

I'll state that this is packaged extremely well, with some excellent, aesthetic artwork and the inclusion of the lyrics to the set. Not that this will help one as myself who cannot understand the Finnish tongue, but then, that's never stopped me from enjoying Horna before. At first I misled myself into thinking this was an album of new material being recorded live as opposed to the studio, since I'm not used to lyrics in live album booklets, and this is one band who's song titles rarely ring a bell due to my inadequacy with the language. It turns out the overwhelming majority have appeared before, once or numerous times on the band's prior full-lengths, EPs and split releases. But it's a testament to the band's history that the songs all sound so fluid together, regardless of their original era, about as savage as black metal gets. Vihan Tiellä was recorded with almost the same lineup the band maintains today, with the exception of Saturnus, no longer with them.

The sound mix of the material is quite sincere, but then Horna have always been a band without much gimmicks, and their songs translate to a rather live, brash feel even on the studio efforts. You'll hear some feedback or squalor in places, and occasionally a very minor turbulence in the performance, but the band's haunting riffs and Corvus' bloodthirsty, brutal throat-tones really hammer home the effortless despair with which this band has come to be associated. They're not exactly the most intricate riff writers, and occasionally they'll incorporate some chords that sound familiar to anyone that's been listening to the style for years, whether that be grim punk, rock or black metal. There's been very little deviation in their form, though, so the live pulls together the mix of faster and slower, more sorrowful material very evenly, as if it were a studio selection.

Earlier tunes present in the set include "Örkkivuorilta" from the debut album Kohti Yhdeksän Nousua, and "Verikammari" from the Perimä Vihassa Ja Verikostossa EP in 1999, but this is largely a 21st century Horna, with the largest representation hailing from one of the band's more popular efforts Envaatnags Eflos Solf Esgantaavne: "Vihan Tie", "Musta Temppeli" and "Kuoleva Lupaus" were all selected. A few tracks from the Musta Kaipuu album of outtakes are also present here: "Marraskuusa" and "Sieluhaaska", though that album would only be released in the same year this live finally got out. Rounding this out, one track from the 2006 full-length Ääniä Yössä ("Raiskattu Saastasessa Valossa"), one from the Viha Ja Viikate EP in 2003 ("Mustasiipinen") and a track the band's split with Behexen, "Verta Koirille". The one track I didn't recognize was "Näkyjen Tuhkasta", a fast paced lashing which is one of the more inspired individual performances on this album.

Like most live albums I'm exposed to, I just can't see any reason which this album would replace the band's excellent studio works, or the experience of actually seeing them for myself. The track list is very steady and the songs often sound almost as good as their studio counterparts, in fact maybe too close, which reduces a little of the novelty or value here. I was also a little perplexed why the band did not include material from their 2007 album Sotahuuto, which is coincidentally my favorite full-length of Horna and my favorite metal album of that year. Whether this was recorded before or after that material I cannot say, since the exact date of the performance is not included with the booklet, but I would figure at least some of those excellent tracks had been written by this time. This all adds up to an experience that is less than optimal, though the band is frankly one of the best in Finnish black metal.

Since this is one band that appeals highly to the metal collector, due to their wealth of output, the great packaging and musical quality of Vihan Tiellä are really secondary to its inclusion on the CD rack in the mountain piles of 'stuff', all in the name of completion. It's by no means a bad exposure to the band's skills on the stage, but I will be unlikely to listen to this over one of their amazing full-length efforts.

Verdict: Indifference [6.75/10]

http://www.myspace.com/thetruehorna

Blodsband - Svunna Tiders Sägner (2010)

Those of you late to the train with Sweden's Blodsband should really head over to the band's MySpace page, where their demos and full-lengths are all available through free download links. Some might be discouraged by the delusive thinking that if something is being offered for free, it's probably not worth fetching, but this is truly an exception to the rule, because this is one of the finer 'bedroom' black metal projects I've heard from this scene, and not at all like the down trodden, depressive sound one might expect. Capturing the bleeding edge and glorious furor of previous releases like Urminnen and the full length debut Kamp och seger, this new record provides nearly an hour of escape into the woodlands, pride and history of Scandinavia.

Presentation is as expected, with a drum machine handling the beats and a lot of keyboard to provide an atmosphere, yet this is all delivered in a thrifty production against the seething walls of guitar and the punishing vocals that are more often than not performed as a death growl. There are some segues of tranquility to offset the generally fast paced, streaming guitar work and pained anguish of the rasped lyrics, but both sides of the coin offer a tasteful tribute to the vast forests, hillsides and distant memories of old Europa. Another standout element are the leads, as Blodsband manages to enhance its compositions through some rather swift, noodling sections that don't at all seem out of place like they might on many other, similar records.

Tracks of note here include "Ett lands förgörelse", with its incredible mix of enjoyable, ringing piano segments and extreme bursts of bewitching melody. Back and forth the band rides out a storm and a calm, and in fact if anything I'd say there were just too many good ideas in this. So too charges the thundering "Stillestånd och nederlag" and the cautionary "Folkungarnas uppror", the latter rising to a climax much like the traverse up a mountainside, the sun blazing through the clouds and melting the frost from your chin stubble. Additionally spacious and beautiful are "Nyköpings gästabud" and "Härskare över två rike". The lyrics are based around a 14th century Swedish text, but as I cannot understand them I guess this is up to our Swedish friends to decipher.

About the only complaint I can launch at Svunna Tiders Sägner would be that the drums spend too much time blasting, despite all the chaos and beauty at the band's fingertips. I realize that this is a drum machine, and I'm not even insisting that an acoustic drummer be needed, but a lot more dynamic shifting could work out well in the band's favor. The riffing consistency is extraordinary, and the buzzing bass and keyboard tones extremely well plotted to provide emotional elevation and caustic hatred, but the drums simply seem excessive, especially when the album is an hour long. That said, they at least sound decent with the mix, and a whole lot of effort has gone into this, there can be no doubts. Considering the album is free, I very much recommend you explore it if you are privy to epic, blasted melodic black metal and don't mind that the band will use machine gun drumming and a mix of guttural and tortured rasp vocals. This is the strongest work I've yet heard from Blodsband, and hopefully would make an impression on some labels if that is what is being sought.

Verdict: Win [7.75/10]

http://www.myspace.com/blodsbandswe

Severe Torture - Slaughtered (2010)

Every now and then I develop a craving for some good old, down home US-styled death metal. Nothing exceedingly technical. No Swedish style guitars. No Polish intimidation (what can I say, they are too good for our own good). No spastic grind or deathcore. No gurgling pig squeal slam style. No cavernous Incantation worship. Surely I enjoy all these things to varying degrees, but no, this time I wanted something which took me back to the head on bludgeoning of Cannibal Corpse, Morbid Angel, and Suffocation, and the Dutch Severe Torture, as they have several times in their career, have delivered it to me with a butcher shop full of human debris and a goddamn bill for the handiwork, graphic gratuity tax included!

Slaughtered is the band's 5th proper full-length effort, and it delivers upon all the promise of previous works like the excellent Misanthropic Carnage or the more recent Sworn Vengeance. There's nothing quite unique about the Severe Torture formula. Combine the above influences, maybe toss in a nod to fellow Dutch killers like Sinister and Houwitser in the tendency for a surge towards relentless blasting, and let it all simmer for a span, as the band take their time to write decent songs rather than cutting and pasting a dozen riffs into a bludgeoning anthem and calling it finished. Slaughtered is extremely consistent. Unlike many of the band's younger peers, you can actually play this record from point A to B and find fulfillment for all 38 minutes. There are also some choice lyrics here, which entertain in their ghastly implications without sinking to the level of drunk frat boy serial killer fantasy gore:

Credulous mother of divine incest
Lavish praise for the whore of gods
Unfold your legs of deceit, receive my mutilation...

The violence begins abruptly, a "Grave Condition" with a precision blast of taut, thrashing rhythms that shift course and then return swiftly, the bridge an excellent breakdown with huge rhythm guitars that cede to the writhing entrail leadwork. "Unholy Misconception" again packs a powerful thrashing thrust before a rolling bridge in the verse, very reminiscence of modern Cannibal Corpse, then the slashing leads and brute blasting carry towards the refrain. The acrobatic intro to "Deride Jesus" actually shifts into a 'glorious', uplifting riff before it breaks down into more Corpse-like muted hammering, and "Defective Fornication" shows a hint of countrymen Pestilence in its escalating central riff! The flavorful forensics do not end here, because "Slaughtered", "Incarnation of Impurity", and "Swallowing Decay" are all complete with chunky, chopped liver guitar work that is memorable enough to mince out a great many listens.

Here is another grisly job done well by a band who receive far too little credit considering the general quality of their cuts. Severe Torture is like the skilled butcher you go too even though the local chain supermarkets sell their slabs of beef and poultry for about half the price. They've trimmed off as much fat and technical excess as possible from their sound, to deliver you only the best riffs possible in a dark, simmering production, and lyrics that actually transcend the simplistic gorgasmic orgy expected of so many bands in this genre. Slaughtered is one of the best pure death metal records I've heard this year, and it's about fucking time people started to listen in on one of Europe's finer craftsmen of the flesh.

Verdict: Epic Win [9/10] (not insurgent but compliant)

http://www.severetorture.com/